Boat holding apparatus



H. c. LINDMARK BOAT HOLDING APPARATUS Dec. 1, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed M arch 30, 1956 -vssu-ron\ a-(oward binalyr qrlg,

Ala. ALIAJ 0,1 I e k9 dTTORMEYj Dec. 1, 1959 c, UNDMARK 2,915,276

4 BOAT HOLDING APPARATUS Filed March 30,1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QJowav-cl c-laihdrndrk x 4.4., m,/-M.J 41% United States Patent BOAT HOLDING APPARATUS Howard C. Lindmark, Rockford, Ill.

Application March 30, 1956, Serial No. 575,174

2 Claims. (Cl. 248361) This invention relates generally to apparatus for detachably holding a boat secured against a rigid supporting surface and, more particularly, to-clamping apparatus including a hook adapted to receive the rear transom or a side wall-of a boat.

The general object of the invention is to provide a gle in a novel manner to utilize the force on the toggle in its overcenter position both to clamp the hook against the boat wall and to urge the hook toward the supporting surface.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of a boat held against a supporting surface by apparatus embodying the novel features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hook and toggle in released positions.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the hook taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the hook and toggle showing different positions of adjustment, some of the parts being broken away and shown in section.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 of a modified construction.

The holding apparatus shown in the drawings to illustrate the present invention is especially suited for securing a boat detachably against an upwardly facing supporting part such as the bed 10 of a wheeled vehicle trailer. clamp 11 of U-shape opening downwardly to receive the upper edge portion of an upstanding wall 12 of the boat, for example, the rear transom, and a toggle 13 forming a part of an extensible connection between the hook and the trailer bed and having first and second members 14 and 15 coupled respectively to the hook and the bed and movable between toggle-extended and overcenter or closed positions. In the extended positions of the members shown in Fig. 2 and in dashed lines in Fig. 5, the hook is free to be raised for removal from the transom and, in the overcenter positions shown in Fig. 1 and in full in Fig. 5, the connection is under tension to urge the hook Generally, the hold-down comprises a hook or I 2 ,915,276 Patented Dec. 1, 1959 downwardly onto the transom and the latter against the bed. In this instance, the second toggle member 15 is coupled to a screw eye 16 on the trailer bed through a chain 17 and a spring 18.

To accommodate transoms of different thicknesses, the clamp 11 is formed of inner and outer parts 19 and 20 of L-shape having parallel legs 21 and 22 constituting the jaws of the clamp and adapted to lie along the inner and outer sides respectively of the transom 12. Cross legs 23 and 24 project inwardly from the parallel legs and across the top edge of the transom and telescope slidably with each other for relative adjustment of the jaws toward and away from each other to vary their spacing. In the preferred construction of Figs. 1 to 5, each hook part is bent from sheet metal with both parallel legs 21 and 22 of channel cross section. The cross leg 24- of the outer part 20 comprises a bottom plate with edge portions 25 bent inwardly and lying along the plate for double thickness as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The innet cross leg 23 is of generally rectangular cross section with inwardly bent portions 26 paralleling and spaced from a bottom plate to cooperate with the latter and define channels receiving the double thickness edge portions 25 of the outer cross leg.

In accordance with the invention, adjustment of the spacing of the parallel hook legs 21 and 22 to accommodate different transom thicknesses is effected automatically as an incident to movement of the toggle members 14 and 15 into their overcenter positions. For this purpose, the cross legs 23 and 24 are freely slidable relative to each other through a limited range and the first toggle member 14 is connected to the inner hook part 19 through a pivotal link27 adapted to bear inwardly against the outer hook part. The link 27 is of generally L-shape with one arm extending along and generally parallel to the cross legs 23 and 24 and pivoted on a rivet 28 extending through parallel ears 29 straddling the link and bent up from the inwardly bent portions 26 of the inner cross leg. The other arm of the link extends downwardly along the outer parallel leg 22 and is formed with a lug 30 adapted to bear against the outer side of the leg. Rotation of the link away from the outer parallel leg is limlimited by abutment of spaced parallel lugs 32 (Figure 5) bent up from the edge portions 25 of the outer cross leg 24 with washers 33 encircling the link rivet 28 and straddling the link 27. .Inward movement of the parts is limited by abutment of the outer parallel leg 22 with the outer end of the inner cross leg 23.

To urge the link 27 downwardly about its pivot 28 and inwardly against the outer parallel leg 22-when the toggle members 14 and 15 are in their overcenter posi tions, the first toggle member 14 is pivotally connected to the link and abuts the latter when the members are in their overcenter positions. In this instance, the first member is an elongated lever having a flat end portion 34 which constitutes a handle and a bifurcated end portion 35 fulcrumed at 3-6 on the depending end portion of the link and straddling the latter. The second member against the link and to urge the latter downwardly about its pivot 28 and inwardly against the outer hook part 20 for shifting the parallel hook legs 21 and 22 toward each other and clamping the same against the inner and outer sides of the transom ,12.

In the operation of the preferred hold-down of Figs. 1 to 5, let it be assumed that the spring 18 has been connected to the screw eye 16 and that the toggle members 14 and 15 are in their extended positions shown in Fig. 2 and in dashed lines in Fig. 5 to enable the book 11 to he slipped over the upper edge of the transom 12. The handle 34 then extends downwardly away from its fulcrum 36 on the link 27 and the chain 17 is loose. To tighten the chain, the handle is raised and swung inwardly about the fulcrum and into its overcenter position .of abutment with the link 27, asshown in full in Fig. 5. During this movement, the pivots 37 for the second toggle member 15 swing first upwardly and inwardly toward the hook to the dead center position in which the line of action of the chain extends through the axes of both the fulcrum and the pivots and the chain and the spring are under the maximum tension. Once the pivots 37 pass the dead center position, they are spaced horizontally toward the hook from the fulcrum and are urged downwardly by the tension force of the chain and spring applied through the second toggle member.

The downward force on the second toggle member 15 when the latter is in the overcenter position acts on the first member 14 to hold the handle 34 in abutment with the link 27 and to swing the link downwardly about its pivot 28. .As an incidentto such swinging of the link, the lug 30 thereon bears inwardly against the outer parallel hook leg 22 to press the same against the outer side of the transom 12 and the link pivot 28 is urged downwardly and outwardly to hold tbecross legs 23 and 24 against the upper edge of the transom and the inner parallel leg 21 against the inner side of the transom. The hook thus adjusts itself automatically to transoms of differing thicknesses, the parallel legs 21 and 22 merely shifting closer together for a thin transom as shown in the dot-dash lines of Fig. 5 than for a thicker transom as shown in full. For each thickness, the pivots 37 for the second member are disposed beyond the dead center position so that the downward force on the member retains the same in its locked overcenter condition.

The pivotal link connection 27 between the first toggle member 14 and the hook 11 also may be arranged for use of the hold-down with difierent transoms disposed at widely varying angles relative to the horizontal trailer bed as shown in the modified construction of Pig. 6 in which parts corresponding to parts of the preferred construction bear similar but primed reference characters. In this construction, the link 27 is suspended at one end from a pivot 28 on the outer parallel hook leg 22' and the pivots 37 for the second toggle member 15' are offset from the handle 34 far enough to lie on the inner side of the line between the linkpivot 28 and the fulcrum '36 when the handle abuts the link on the outer side of this line as shown in Fig. 6. Like the preferred hook parts 19 and 20, the modified hook parts 19 and 20' are of L-shape with parallel legs 21 and 22' lying along opposite sides of the transom 12' and cross legs 23' and 24' telescoping with an adjustable relative to each other. Herein, the modified cross legs are of channel cross section with the outer leg 24 fitting in the inner leg 23' and secured in adjusted position relative thereto by a bolt 33 countersunk in the inner leg and extending through a slot 39 in the outer leg to receive a nut 40 for securing the legs together.

in the operation of the modified hold-down, the toggle members 14' and 15 move between their extended and overcenter positions in a manner similar to these members in the preferred construction. Due to the pivotal suspension of the link 2'7 from the outer hook part 2%, however, the angle of disposition of the link and toggle members relative to each otherre-mains the same to insure retention of the toggle members in their overcenter positions even though the angle of the transom 12. may vary widely, for example, from the vertical position shown in phantom in Fig. 6 to a tilted position at a wide angle relative to the vertical as shown in full in this figure.

'5 claim as my invention:

1. A combined clamp and hold down device for boat transoms comprising first and second L-shaped substantially right angle members having legs slidably telescoping with each o ter and other legs laterally spaced apart and forming the jaws of a U-shaped clamp adapted to'fit down over the transom of a boat, a lever pivoted on the telescope legs of said first member and projecting in the plane of the clamp along the closed end of the U beyond the jaw of the second member, said lever having a lug intermediate its ends bearing against the outer side of said last mentioned jaw near the bend of the second member so as to urge the jaws together in response to the application to the outer end of said lever of a pull directed downwardly along the boat transom and parallel to said jaws, first and second links pivotally joined together with the first link pivoted on said outer lever end, and a pull chain joined to the free end of said second link and adapted to be anchored at its lower end while hanging down along said transom, said links constituting a toggle adapted to be moved over-center by swinging of said first link upwardly and then toward said clamp.

2. A combined clamp and hold down device as defined in claim 1 including a handle constituting 'a rigid extension of said first toggle link projecting outwardly from the clampwhen said toggle is extended and movable to an upright position to move said toggle links over-center relative to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,455,596 Morrison May 15, 1923 2,134,823 Herrmann et al Nov. 1, 1938 2,372,803 Turner Apr. 3, 1945 2,427,603 Higgins Sept. 16, 1947 2,539,997 Graves Jan. 30, 1951 2,679,430 Byron May 25, 1954 2,825,522 Bolmes Mar. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 321,772 Italy Oct. 16, 1934 685,581 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1950 845,012 Germany July 28, 1952 

